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N.D. Bill Would Shield Food Industry

Posted on: Monday, 10 January 2005, 12:00 CST

BISMARCK, N.D. - North Dakota should join an increasing number of states that are blocking lawsuits against food makers from people who eat too much of their products, a group of lawmakers say.

Among the bill's sponsors are two Fargo Republican legislators of size, Reps. Ron Iverson and Blair Thoreson. The measure's primary sponsor, Rep. Kim Koppelman, R-West Fargo, said Iverson and Thoreson approached him about having their names on the bill.

"They wanted to come out and let people know we are all responsible for our actions, and we shouldn't be blaming others," Koppelman said.

A spokeswoman for North Dakota trial attorneys said the legislation is unnecessary. North Dakota has had no lawsuits claiming that the food industry is responsible for a person's obesity, said Paula Grosinger, director of the North Dakota Trial Lawyers Association.

"It's been grossly overstated that we have a rash of frivolous lawsuits," Grosinger said. "This is a solution searching for a problem."

Koppelman's legislation resembles a bill being promoted by the National Restaurant Association, a trade group. It shields food makers, distributors, sellers and advertisers of food, along with industry trade associations, from lawsuits related to a person's weight problems, or obesity-related health conditions.

Koppelman modified the bill to include farmers and ranchers in the group that is protected. His bill specifies that food "producers" are shielded. That language is not included in the restaurant industry measure.

"It's only a matter of time before someone sues a hog farmer or rancher for having a heart attack," Koppelman said. His bill has not yet been scheduled for a hearing.

Grosinger said the proposal also makes it difficult to pursue legitimate complaints against the food industry. Under the legislation, for a food company to be liable for an injury, the company must have known it was breaking the law, she said. That is not the legal standard for lawsuits against other industries, she said.

Last year, 14 states, including South Dakota, approved legislation to restrict lawsuits claiming food industry responsibility for a person's obesity, the National Restaurant Association says.

Bills were introduced in 29 state legislatures. Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed one measure, arguing it was not needed.

The U.S. House approved legislation in March 2003 that said restaurants, food makers and industry trade associations should not be held legally responsible for a person's weight problem. Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., supported the measure. The Senate has not acted on a similar bill introduced by Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Thoreson, who weighs well over 300 pounds, said he is backing the measure because he believes the country is too litigious, and he considers the measure a way to prevent frivolous lawsuits.

Thoreson said he is overweight because of his fondness for eating, not because of the food industry. He is trying to eat healthier foods now, and there are plenty of healthy options, even at fast-food places, he said.

"Just because I'm the size I am doesn't make me feel any differently about the bill," he said.

Some groups have promoted the idea of suing food companies over the nation's weight problem. The Boston-based Public Health Advocacy Institute held a June 2003 conference for attorneys, intended "to encourage and support litigation against the food industry," according to conference advertising.

Legislation to protect the food industry from obesity lawsuits became more popular after a New York City maintenance worker, Caesar Barber, sued McDonald's, Wendy's, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Burger King in federal court.

He claimed in the July 2002 lawsuit that the chains should pay him damages for selling him the food that made him fat. A diabetic who had suffered two heart attacks, Barber weighed more than 270 pounds.

A federal judge threw out the lawsuit. Barber's attorney, Samuel Hirsch, filed a subsequent lawsuit against McDonald's on behalf of a group of obese children. It was dismissed twice, most recently in September 2003. The second claim argued that McDonald's used deceptive advertising.

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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